Iqaluit

The unfamiliarity of the Arctic environment lends an unusual sense of dread to Carmen (Marie-Josée Croze)’s journey of self-discovery as she heads north to visit her seriously injured husband, Gilles (François Papineau). It’s 2 a.m. as she leaves the hospital where he lies in a coma and the sun shines eerily. Caught between a nightmare and reality, her paranoia leads her to believe that what happened to her husband was not an accident as the police claim.

Director Benoît Pilon doesn’t just use the environment metaphorically, he strives to portray the reality of Northern life. While ostensibly the story of white residents like Gilles, who splits his year between Iqaluit and Montreal, much of the film focuses on the Inuk residents — especially Noah (Natar Ungalaaq), a friend of Gilles who grows close to Carmen. Ungalaaq, best known for his starring roles in Ce qu’il faut pour vivre, Pilon’s best-known film, and Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner, becomes the film’s emotional centre. Blending quietness and physicality, he steers the film away from melodrama.

His scenes with Croze are particularly striking, as both actors have differing but complementary styles. Croze tends toward larger physical gestures that express complicated and often contradictory emotions, while Ungalaaq is more constrained. The film is worthwhile for their interaction, as their differing perspectives drive much of the film’s second half.

At times, Iqaluit suffers from an overbearing bleakness — a feature that strangles too much of Canadian cinema. But Pilon mostly navigates away from darkness when he focuses on such communal moments as a family’s dinner of a freshly caught seal. Carmen’s love for her husband, rather than anger, drives the film’s action, creating a conflict that is an internal struggle rather than an external one. Above all else, the film is focused on the journey of characters as opposed to an unwinding mystery. A touch of dark humour, mostly in scenes involving police and bureaucracy provides a change of tone.

Pilon’s greatest skill is observation, in his ability to draw out the best from his cast and their environments. He might lack the wow factor of some of his contemporaries, but he consistently offers thoughtful and challenging portrayals of human endurance and survival.

Iqaluit is no different, presenting an illuminating and challenging experience for audiences.

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